Rangery Moments
by Bluewolf-Z
Summary: Short Rescue Ranger stories. First out: The Invisible Adversary


**THE INVISIBLE ADVERSARY**

The leader of the Rescue Rangers slowly and tentatively peeked around the corner of the wooden crate. Surveying what he could see of the warehouse from his vantage point he came up with nothing. His enemy was too smart to stand around in open view.

Chip, deciding that waiting wouldn't result in any progress in any way, left his temporary hiding spot and began making his way towards the far end of the room.

A glint of light in the corner of his eye made him throw himself to the ground, instinct saving him where conscious thought would have been too slow. Rolling out of his dive he unfolded in a defensive stance, facing his opponent. The ranger chanced a quick glance to the side, at the nearly inch long scalpel blade half embedded in one of the crates, before turning his gaze back at the thrower.

"You've got good reflexes Chip," Ace commended, "it'll be a shame to do you in. Worthy opponents are quite rare these days."

"Your suffering conscience isn't evoking any pity in me, if that's what you're fishing for," the chipmunk replied evenly, "now are you going to try and kill me today, or do you intend to babble me to death?"

"Impatient as always," the tone of disappointment in the chameleon's voice was unmistakeable, "that's probably the thing I dislike the most about your species." As the sound of the lizard's words faded away, so did he. As he used the ability of his kind, in a second he had seemingly melted into the background and disappeared once again.

_*POW*_

The impact to the side of Chip's face made him stagger backwards, almost loosing his balance.

The ranger gathered himself quickly, returning into a defensive stance with his senses on high alert for any sign of his opponent.

Everything was still for a second. As if time itself had suddenly stopped. Then, just as suddenly, the chipmunk moved.

Whirling 180 degrees clockwise while raising his arm, Chip felt the lizard's wrist against his own as the invisible punch was knocked aside. He quickly took a few steps backwards, then stopped, eying the spot just in front of him.

"How did you do that?" The voice came seemingly out of nowhere. As if the air itself talked. "You couldn't possibly hear me move."

"You got light feet," the chipmunk agreed, "but your scales make a slight sound when your skin stretches at certain moves. Like when you reach back to throw a hard punch. But mainly you're just predictable. I knew you were going to try and jump me from behind."

Chip proceeded to remove a vial of red liquid from his jacket pocket. But before he could make any use of it...

_"*OOF!*"_

A punch to the gut removed much of the air from his lungs. The vial fell to the floor, spilling it's contents.

The ranger staggered backwards clutching his abdomen.

_*SMACK*_

The second impact to the head brought Chip to the floor. He barely managed to catch himself with one hand. He quickly rolled out reach, feeling the breeze made by yet another attempted strike.

"Not so smug anymore, are you?" The bodiless voice taunted while the chipmunk shakily rose to his feet again. "Don't talk so much if you can't back it up... _*HUH?*_"

Chip watched as the chameleon faded back into view, the concentration needed to work his ability lost as his feet refused to move when he wanted them to.

"Looks like those feet of yours are not so light anymore," the ranger commented.

"What the heck did you do?" The villain was working himself into quite a handsome rage. "And _how_?"

"I got you to step, not only in that red liquid as you charged me heedlessly, but also in another colorless liquid that I had in a vial hidden in my sleeve." Chip explained, "You didn't notice when I used the given opportunity, when you knocked me down, to pour the second one on the floor where you would put your feet. Those fluids are useless on their own, but when they are mixed they make one of the most potent glues I've ever come across."

"But I only used short moves," Ace fairly spat, "you couldn't have heard my moves!"

"That thing with the scales?" The chipmunk smiled as he dusted himself off. "Of course I can't hear that. No matter how you move, the sound is much to faint even for my hearing to pick up. No, I just said that so that you wouldn't punch me so hard."

"Then _HOW_?" The lizard raged on, eyes blazing.

"Psychology," Chip stated as he leaned against a crate, " I told you that it was predictable to attack from behind to make you do the opposite. That is, to attack me from the front. You did exactly what I wanted you to. I came to the conclusion that the only way to effectively fight an invisible enemy is to control his movements somehow. Once you had stepped into the pattern I wanted, the outcome was obvious."

Ace didn't reply. He merely growled something under his breath while looking down at his immobile feet.

The ranger just sat down to relax a bit and recover while waiting for his teammates.


End file.
